The technology industry is booming, but the number of women employed in the digital workforce has remained shockingly low for the last decade. One Derby firm has worked hard to close the gender gap and, on International Women’s Day, staff tell Emily Fish why their tech talent means they have a lot to offer the industry.
At a time when diversity and inclusion is being highlighted more than ever, the IT industry continues to fall short but one Derby firm is bucking the trend.
According to research carried out in 2020, just 19% of the sector is made up of women but L.E.A.D IT, a Derbyshire IT support service, has set out to challenge the stereotypes within the industry – with women making up 50% of its workforce.
The firm, which is based in Cubo in Victoria Street, employs talented and ambitious women who are eager to demonstrate that technology is not just a career path for men.
The company provides IT support to schools across the UK and has been busier than ever helping pupils access online learning during lockdown.
Sophie Jepson is a senior technician for L.E.A.D IT and has expressed a love for teaching and tech.
Sophie Jepson is one of L.E.A.D IT’s senior technicians, supporting primary schools in and around Derby, dealing with issues such as connectivity and offering guidance to technicians within the schools to resolve issues and learn new skills.
She said: “I was originally going to be a teacher and I have an education degree. I was working in a school as a science technician, which I enjoyed, when a job came up to support L.E.A.D – which seemed to offer the best of both worlds.
“I really enjoy working within schools and supporting staff, as I understand the pressures of teaching. I also think that because I’m a woman, staff are more likely to approach me if they’ve had an IT issue, especially as there are more women working in primary schools.
“I think it instils confidence in them; if I’m capable, they can be too.”
Despite being a rewarding career, Sophie acknowledges there is still a lack of women in the industry, attributing it to a lack of encouragement.
“I think it’s partly a lack of knowledge and the fear of being seen as incapable. There’s also a bit of stereotyping and certainly a lack of promotion for women to try IT, especially as there aren’t many female role models in the industry,“ she said.
“However, more people are embracing diversity and businesses are trying to bring lots of areas together to show what women in IT can do.”
Although more people are embracing diversity, sadly sexist treatment still exists.
“It happens a lot. Admittedly it’s mostly from other IT technicians at some of the schools we work with, assuming I can’t do the job. But then I prove them wrong when I solve the issue they can’t fix or the school feeds back that I’ve done a good job,” shares Sophie.
“I helped to install a new smartboard at a primary school and one pupil said they wanted to be like me which was brilliant. More girls started putting their hands up to have a go, because they could see a woman doing the job.”
Lisa Messenger, a site technician for L.E.A.D IT, agrees that sexism can be rife in the male-dominated industry.
“Sadly, it’s true that sexism still exists. When I sometimes turn up onsite, you can tell they’re expecting a man rather than a woman,” she said.
Lisa started her love of technology through gaming and taught herself to code before entering the workforce.
She added: “You never stop learning with this job and thankfully we receive lots of training and support that allows us to keep up with the latest trends.
“It’s crazy how much you learn. It’s one of those industries which is constantly changing and we’re always trying keep the schools we work with up to date with their technology, especially during lockdown.”
Emma Wallis had a strong interest for tech, so was keen to get involved by pursuing an apprenticeship with L.E.A.D IT.
Emma Wallis started out at the company as an apprentice and now works on the helpdesk fixing issues remotely over the phone. Her tasks include anything from password resets to website uploads.
She said: “I hadn’t worked in the IT industry before, but it was something I always wanted to try. So L.E.A.D took a chance on me as an apprentice and I worked my way up from there. Although I had no previous experience in tech, I had a strong interest.”
She says her apprenticeship entailed a lot of practical, onsite work, alongside technical challenges, such as coding, which have helped her in her current role and it is passing her Microsoft qualification that she deems her proudest moment.
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“That was quite a big achievement for me. I started from the bottom and I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about the job role. The whole process was quite a challenge, so when I passed it gave me a confidence boost and proved to me that I can do the job,” she said.
“Because the industry is typically seen as male-dominated, it puts people off or they feel like they don’t have the right encouragement or support to take that career path.
“More encouragement and promotion is needed, especially on social media, as that’s where people tend to take more notice. Seeing it out in the real world would give people the confidence to think they could go out and try it.”
Emma Wallis believes women deserve more encouragement when it comes to careers in tech.
Joanna Fearn, a site technician at L.E.A.D IT, also hopes to encourage more women to get involved in tech.
“I grew up around tech, as my dad worked with computers, so I’ve always been interested in IT. But it’s the people I work with as well that have made me love the job and encouraged me, it’s a very friendly environment.
“It’s very much a male-dominated industry and stereotyping still exists. When people think of IT technicians they picture a geeky bloke hiding in a dark room, so people tend to think of it as just a man’s job.
“However, there are loads of women here at L.E.A.D IT and not just on the helpdesk. Plus it’s important that children can see it’s not always a man, so we’re really keen to just put our faces out there.”
And by making people more aware there are talented women in the industry, it will hopefully help tackle sexist treatment.
“I can often tell that one of the schools I work with very much expect it to be a male technician and the way they treat the male technicians compared to the female technicians is very different. They listen to the men and are very happy to see them, whereas with me, they’ll question everything I say and want a second opinion,” shares Joanna.
“The biggest thing L.E.A.D do is employ us. There are lots of women on the helpdesk and in other roles throughout the company and I don’t think you’d really see that anywhere else.”
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